When an electronic beacon transmits advertising packets to a nearby listening device without requiring the listening device to establish an authenticated connection to the electronic beacon, the criteria for accepting the validity of the advertising packet has been based on the contents of the advertising packet. When the advertising packets are not encrypted, any device can listen for and read the advertising packet and then re-create the advertising packet in the same or different location as the location of the originally transmitting electronic beacon. The re-creation or copying of the advertising packets is referred to as spoofing.
The present inventor recognized that the risk of spoofing limits the use of electronic beacons to cases where spoofing is not a concern. The present inventor recognized that in many cases authentication to a transmitting electronic beacon adds additional steps, takes additional time, increases expense, and/or is otherwise inconvenient. The present inventor recognized that it would be desirable for a receiving device to validate content of data transmitted from an electronic beacon without the need to authenticate to the transmitting electronic beacon. The present inventor recognized a need for a system and method that eliminates spoofing risks associated with electronic beacons. The present inventor recognized the need for a system and method that provides a more secure means of determining the location of a listening device based on data received from a transmitting electronic beacon.